Certain industrial applications may require circuit breakers in which the toggle handle or other linearly movable actuator may be closed in its ON position or opened in its OFF position more easily. For example, this feature may be desirable when the circuit breakers are mounted relatively high in circuit breaker control centers so that the circuit breaker may be more difficult to reach and operate. This feature may also be desirable when the circuit breakers are installed along the horizontal plane, rather than the vertical plane, such that the toggle handles operate side to side along the horizontal plane rather than up and down along the vertical plane. There are various approaches in this area, as are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,906, assigned to Siemens AG, as well as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,302,925; 5,219,070; 3,192,334; 5,493,084; 5,493,083; and 5,288,958. It is believed, however, that these other approaches may have certain disadvantages or other limitations. It may also be desirable to provide for features such as operator handle padlocking, enclosure door interlocking and cylinder locks.
The system of the present invention is believed to provide a better and different approach in this area. Also, the present system may be configured to provide for enclosure door interlocks and cylinder locks. Moreover, the circuit breaker operator handle of the present system allows the use of padlocks having shackle diameters ranging from three (3) to eight (8) millimeters.